Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and ulcerative colitis in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

The cotton-top tamarin (CTT; Saguinus oedipus) is an endangered New World p rimate that develops a highly prevalent idiopathic colitis resembling human ulcerative colitis. This study found that enteropathogenic Escherichia col i (EPEC) caused acute colitis in CTTs, which was associated with ulcerative colitis. EPEC clinical isolates revealed localized adherence patterns by H Ep-2 assay and were devoid of Shiga-toxin production. Sequencing of the eae gene (GenBank accession no. AF319597) revealed 99.2% identity to sequences of human isolates (GenBank AF116899) and corresponded to the epsilon intim in gene subtype. Detection of intimin sequences by polymerase chain reactio n on primary fecal cultures indicated widespread EPEC infection in the CTT colony. Prospective analysis revealed that animals with fecal cultures posi tive for intimin sequences had a higher frequency of active colitis (75.0% vs. 27.2%; P < .005, <chi>(2) test) and higher histological scores of colon ic inflammation (0.875 vs. 0.455, respectively; P < .05, Mann-Whitney rank sum test).